“The Cartridge Enabler” – decoupler and azimuth adjustment to upgrade all cartridges. As you might guess, the “Cartridge Enabler” “enables” your cartridge to operate much more effectively. Consisting of a thin material which you fit between the cartridge and headshell, this simple device is one of the most cost effective upgrades you will come across. How does it sound? You immediately notice improved bass fullness with added textures. Voices especially take on a tangible quality which sounds more natural and realistic. Attaching the Enabler is like improving the suspension of a car travelling down a road full of pot holes. Resonant jagged edges which jar and detract from the performance are removed which gives a sense of increased ease and vibrancy to the music. Interestingly the Enabler improves the sound quality of lower cost cartridges to a much greater extent than those at the higher end of the spectrum. Cartridge Isolation Works The idea of an energy absorbing interface for the cartridge is not entirely new. The Cartridge Man isolator has done this successfully but at a higher cost for a product that is not so universally applicable. Another alternative promoted by the Dynavector UK importer suggests 3 plastic washers placed between cartridge and headshell – this also works effectively but not as well as the Enabler. The Key Advantages of the Cartridge Enabler are: It sounds brilliant. Easy to fit. Low cost at £19 (performance improvement can be valued at over 10 times this figure) It works with all cartridges (we’ve tried from £35 budget up to £8000 high end cartridges) Robust and long lasting Provides the ability to slightly adjust azimuth on tonearms. Features: Isolation Material: The specialist material used absorbs energy evenly across the audio frequency spectrum. Most materials tend to work in a fairly narrow band which leads to negative results. The material is similar to a good gasket material, flexible and robust. Not only does the material selected work where almost all others fail but we modify and treat it in a manner that enhances it’s performance. Profile: It’s not just the type of material which matters but also the profile. The shape has been refined and tested for an optimised performance. Washers: The Enabler protects the topside of the cartridge from vibration but what about energy transmission through the bolts? To address this problem we supply washers made from the same material as the Enabler and then use nylon washers to spread the load of the bolt heads. Fitting the Cartridge Enabler The Enabler has precision cut slots which allows you to fit it acurately between cartridge and headshell without any fuss or additional tools. It adds 1mm to the height of the cartridge so your arm will be best if raised 1mm higher at it’s base. Adjusting Azimuth The Enabler allows you to set up your cartridge exactly parallel to the underside of your tonearm headshell. It’s possible to simply tighten one of your cartridge bolts to compress the Cartridge Enabler slightly more on one side and thus slightly alter azimuth. Considerations Fitting The Enabler is simple to fit, however, the cartridge will need to be re-aligned, tracking force set and arm height adjusted. If you can do this then the upgrade is a great idea. If not then you can download generic cartridge set up instructions for beginners from our online support pages. AWe are also more than happy to fit this for anyof our customers. Click here to find your nearest store
